Method for Reducing Sound from an Enclosure Mounted Fan

Axial fans are widely used for electronic cooling, but their use often results in unwanted noise. An axial fan is mounted to an enclosure, the sound radiation pattern becomes monopole-like since only one side of the fan is exposed to the exterior space; thus it radiates more efficiently than the same fan in free space.

Purdue University researchers have developed a novel scheme that significantly reduces the sound power radiated by an axial fan mounted to a surface of an enclosure.